History
Page 10 - Friday, March 25, 2022
The Borderland Press
The History of Numedahl, North Dakota - Part 1 By Cory Lien Numedahl, a settlement with a post office established near the Canadian line on section 34-164-58 of Fremont Township in Cavalier County, is situated in a river valley in the Pembina Mountains. The Scandinavian settlers named the area Numedahl, meaning “beautiful valley between hills," after the district of Nore Numedal, Norway, from which they once lived. The First Years Andrew Fjeld was the first Norwegian immigrant to settle in the area of Numedahl. Mr. Fjeld arrived in the summer of 1888, followed shortly later that year by Knute Frogne. Bjorn Nielson Halvorsplads and Erick Fulsaas came in 1891; Lars Lien, Severt Fonnebo, and Tosten Fonnebo in 1892; and Thom Thompson in 1893. These early settlers all homesteaded here with the exception of Andrew Fjeld, who left the area, and Lars Lien sold his farm in 1899 to reside in the 1-6 area of Manitoba, one mile from Numedahl. The homes of the first settlers were all log cabins, the first being a crude tworoom cabin built by Andrew Fjeld. This he generously shared with the early settlers' families until their homes were built. Mr. Knute Frogne once said that the first cabin he built on his homestead was very primitive in appearance, being only six feet square. A canopy of branches and leaves served as the roof, small openings served as windows, and the door being so small that the occupants had to crawl while entering or leaving the cabin. The humble dwelling served as a shelter for him while he was building a more accommodating home for his family. The new cabin, when finished, was only a twelve by fourteen foot cabin but sufficed as a home for his family of six for a number of years. Mr. Frogne stated that after paying the expenses of transporting his family here, his finances consisted of only sufficient means to buy window panes and flooring for his cabin, which was not completed upon the arrival of his
family. There being no funds to provide the necessities of life, nevertheless, a family still had to be provided for. Deer, elk, and bear were then plentiful, so hunting became one of the main sources of food. Among the game killed by Mr. Frogne were five bears, four of which were shot the same spring. The settlers owned a few head of livestock. As this was a very wooded region, the upkeep of the scant stock throughout the winter months proved to be difficult on account of the shortage of hay. The settlers were compelled to shovel away snow to find grass, which they had to cut by hand and bring home for their few livestock. By 1891, Bjorn Nielson Halvorsplads arrived here early in the summer and began building his cabin. Erick Fulsaas brought his family here later that year as did Mr. Halvorsplads. The Fulsaas family first stayed with the Halvorsplads and then at the Fjeld home. Mr. Fulsaas was unable to build his home that first winter because he had frozen his limbs on the way to Langdon, N.D., which was the nearest town at the time. Roads were very scarce at this time; frequently the men undertook laborious tasks of carrying one hundred pound sacks of flour across the Big Pembina Mountains to Numedahl. Residents of Homen brought the goods from Langdon. There were no bridges crossing the Pembina River at the time, so rafts were built to transport goods and people. Oxen and wagons were the chief means of transportation. Wagons were purchased when possible, but the settlers usually made the harness. Strips of cowhide would often serve the purpose. It is said that one settler did not take the time to remove the hair from the hide used to make his harness, and the appearance of his team of oxen were to be strikingly quaint and humorous. Farm implements and machinery were scarce. As soon as small patches of trees could be cleared away, grain was sowed. This was common-
ly broadcast by hand and harrowed down. When ripe, the grain was cut by a scythe, tied by hand, and threshed in the crude way of spreading sheaves on ice and pounding out the grain! The furniture in the homes was principally homemade. Three-legged stools, log benches, and roughly hewn tables made up the bulk of the furniture. If the settlers had any farm products, such as eggs to send to town, the usual way was to carry them across the Big Pembina and then send them on with someone who might go to Langdon. Numedahl General Stores and Post Offices Halvor Halvorson established the first store and post office June 27, 1898, and Numedahl, N.D. was born. His store, built of logs, was located at the North Hill in Numedahl, east of the Nelson farm. Erick Fulsaas was the first mail carrier of Numedahl, and he brought mail three times a week from Walhalla, N.D. Mr. Halvorson sold his business to Halvor B. Nelson in May of 1903. Mr. Halvorson dismantled and rebuilt his store building into a house in 1-6, Manitoba where Ole Frogne later made his home. The first Nelson store, also built of logs, was located at the Nelson farm. In 1907, H.B. Nelson had Gunder Rykalli build a new warehouse, general merchandise store, and post office known as H.B. Nelson & Son. Tosten Lofsgaard, John Nelson, Tosten Kjemhus, Martin Johnson, and Selma Bergseid served as clerks in the store throughout the years. Mrs. H.B. Nelson and her sons assisted with the store and post office. The post office closed August 31, 1926, due to rural routes from Walhalla, N.D. Bernard Nelson, a son of Mr. Nelson, ran the business into the early 1940s when it closed. "It is understood that the Numedahl post office, one of the oldest in the county, will be discontinued at an early date on account of lack of patronage, with most of the former patrons
Gunder Halvorson saw rig, Numedahl, N.D. Submitted photo.
Numedahl School, 1921. Submitted photo.
of the office now being served by rural routes out of Walhalla. H.B. Nelson, general merchant at Numedahl, has been postmaster.” --Cavalier County Republican, July 29, 1926 Both stores sold numerous hardware supplies, dry goods, machine oils, gasoline, and other farm and household supplies. Our Canadian neighbors were patrons of both general stores and post offices in the early years. The Nelson store was rebuilt by the Nelson sons into their home in 1945. The warehouse is still standing to this day at the Nelson farm. The daughters of Mr. & Mrs. H.B. Nelson, Claire Nelson and Selma Eid, had a granite marker built in memory of the Nelson store in 1998, which stands at the Nelson farm. The services were first held in homes at Numedahl and in the schoolhouse during the early years. The services were held only about once a month, rotating between the Elkwood, Homen, and Numedahl communities. Reverend Jens Skugstad,
the first full-time minister, held services in the three communities until 1896, when Rev. Harold Vang was called, who came with his horse and buggy from a distance of forty miles. The congregation of Numedahl was officially established in the spring of 1896 with Harold Vang serving as pastor. In 1899, Rev. Vang resigned, and Rev. G.A. Sovde was called from the Milton, ND area. In 1906, Rev. Olaf Olson was called to serve the Big Pembina, Mona, Numedahl, and Vang congregations. For his yearly salary, Big Pembina was to contribute $200, Numedahl $100, and Vang $100 per year, besides furnishing oats and hay for his horses. Read about The History of Numedahl, North Dakota - Part 2 in next week’s issue. Cory Lien is the author of the book “Numedahl, North Dakota,” published in 2001. Lien works at the University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation in Grand Forks and has a passion for history in the Pembina Gorge.
